Female pop act Girls Aloud scored its second No. 1 U.K. single yesterday (Nov. 21) with a cover of the Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand by You.” Profits from the single are being donated to the BBC’s Children in Need as the official song of the 2004 relief effort. The group performed the song Friday as part of a BBC1 telethon, which raised £17 million.
Girls Aloud debuted with the Christmas No. 1 single in Britain in 2002 after graduating from the “Popstars: The Rivals” TV series. This is the group’s sixth consecutive top 5 single and follows three consecutive No. 2 entries, “Jump,” “The Show” and “Love Machine.”
Another TV-created star, London soul vocalist Lemar, a former finalist on the BBC’s “Fame Academy,” arrived at No. 3 with “If There’s Any Justice” (Sony Music). No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani’s solo debut single, “What You Waiting For” (Interscope), came in at No. 4, followed by boy band McFly’s “Room on the 3rd Floor” (Universal) at No. 5 and JoJo’s “Baby It’s You” featuring Bow Wow (Mercury) at No. 8.
On the U.K. album chart, Eminem’s “Encore” (Interscope) started a second week at No. 1. The highest new entry came from Destiny’s Child’s “Destiny Fulfilled” (Columbia) at No. 5, a ways off from the No. 1 debut of the group’s last album, 2001’s “Survivor.” Male pop quartet Blue’s “Best Of” (Innocent/Virgin) arrived at No. 6.
Already certified triple-platinum for U.K. shipments of 900,000 copies, Keane’s debut set, “Hopes and Fears” (Universal Island) jumped 20-9 in the midst of the band’s tour of the region.
Across Europe, Robbie Williams’ “Greatest Hits” (Chrysalis) had the stamina to resist “Encore” to spend a fourth week at the top of the European Top 100 Albums chart, but Eminem’s “Just Lose It” staves off U2’s “Vertigo” (Universal Island) at the top of the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles roundup.
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